Injecting new energy and ideas into the gothic/metal scene of the UK, Pro Jekt are an ideal link between the post punk bands of the eighties and some modern industrialism influenced by metal and various experimentations. They released only one album but they started to get noticed by magazines. Discover some more about them…

Chain D.L.K.: Please first of all tell us who you are and what your aims are as Pro Jekt…Pro Jekt: Shaun travis- vocals, Kev rice – Bass, Mysterious AL middleton -Keys programming, Phil may GuitarK: Our original aim was to mix our musical tastes in a way we had never been allowed to in our previous bands’ artistic freedom and to be different…

Chain D.L.K.: I’ve read on your bio that you usually file your music as “metal gothic groove”. Do you think that classification could help the listener and the band? Pro Jekt: AL: I don’t think we always fit into any category very easily. Essentially it’s easier to class us as a ‘Gothic Metal band’. The word ‘groove’ depicts the dance/techno beats that underpin our whole music.

Chain D.L.K.: Have you ever had criticts from metal or goth purists which blamed you for the use of a drum machine (only on “The Next World – Full Version” there’s a real drum if I’m correct) and synths? Pro Jekt: AL:… It’s actually a sample of a real drum – we have never used a real drum kit and we never really intend to for the immediate future. K: Some traditionalists of both the metal and gothic audiences find it difficult to get hold of our ‘nu gothic metal groove’ we prefer to think of Pro Jekt as a crossover between the two whilst adding our own different flavours.

Chain D.L.K.: While listening to your album “Encryption”, I sometimes thought about English goth bands such as Play Dead. I think that ’80es English bands helped a lot in creating a particular scene/sound. In your opinion, could it be important to create such a thing nowadays? Could it be possible and how? Pro Jekt: AL: I think its difficult to recreate a scene like it was in the early eighties. England is very driven by media packaged bands and seems to incorporate ‘here today gone tommorow’ attitudes to each genre (and sub-genre). The music scene over here is quite split over many genres, styles and fashions – leaving little room for any really large movement/scene. However, things seem to be getting a little better…especially the need for ‘live’ music. K: It would just take a few bands to break a new scene if it had the right backing, but, there is just no money to finance the underground enough to compete with the big labels…but the bands are here…working hard.

Chain D.L.K.: I noticed that on the album you went for a compressed sound with guitars in evidence. Since you recorded it at the Nightbreed studios, did Trev and Richard help you with the sound production or did you have a defined sound already? Pro Jekt: AL: I think we have a very defined live sound, especially with Phil’s guitar. In the studio Trev & Richard did tend to compress the guitar which was fine. I think the dirty guitar sound is a good thing for that album. K: Some people have said that Nightbreed add their own sound to their releases anyway…I suppose every producer has their own ways of getting the sound they are after.

Chain D.L.K.: I also noticed that the sound isn’t over-produced and that sometimes it sounds rough. Is it something you were looking for? Pro Jekt: K: We tried to keep the album powerful, fresh and alive sounding.

Chain D.L.K.: I saw the Earache brand on your presentation. Did they just take care of the distribution or are they involved in other ways? Pro Jekt: K: This was a deal between the label bosses of Nightbreed and Earache after the success of Mortiis on Earache, both labels are Nottingham based, actually. Pro Jekt’s “Encryption” CD was the first Nightbreed album to be put on the Earache webstore site, soon to be followed by most other Nightbreed releases…We’ll wait and see what else is in the pipeline…

Chain D.L.K.: Can you tell to our readers how you got signed to Nightbreed? When I read about this I thought it was a peculiar story…Pro Jekt: K: We wanted to get a track featured on their Gothic sounds compilation series…AL: So we basically we used their studio to record a single new track that we where working on, some 18 months ago. Trev Bamford, Nightbreed Label boss came into the studio switched on the computer and listened to what we had been recording…and signed us some days later. We also liked the deal giving us artistic freedom and the fact that the label and their studios where only a few miles away, so we eventually agreed to release an album with them.

Chain D.L.K.: “Encryption” is a particular title. What do you think is worth decrypting? What did you mean by that? Pro Jekt: AL: Encryption is about the lyrics on the album. Some of the lyrics are personal to us and deep. Encryption means only certain people can translate what the songs are about, however, it gives them enough room for their own opinions and feelings… K: Open for your own interpretations…We know what the lyrics mean to us…what do they mean to you?

Chain D.L.K.: Each song on your album has got a certain dose of tension. Since on the booklet there aren’t the lyrics, can you tell us what the recurrent themes are and why you wanted chose those particular topics? Pro Jekt: AL: The lyrics and music are influenced around core areas of human life – relationships, insecurity, the spectre of death and the impact of religious belief. K: Also the modern pace of life and technology over religion.

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